Brave New World

Wed 26 Sep 2018

It has been 71 years since Lagonda was acquired by Aston Martin, and for most of that time it has been the most somnolent of sleeping partners. Well, no longer! With an aim to long-live plutocratic duopoly of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, it is all set to become the world’s first zero emission luxury brand. It has confound traditional thinking and take full advantage of the latest advances in electrification and autonomous driving technologies, which amount to the biggest revolution in land-bound transportation since the invention of the car. Read ahead to explore this amazing concept car.

The Lagonda ‘Vision Concept’ is a near future study that previews the design language that could potentially be seen in production Lagonda models as soon as 2021. Alongside the new concept, two scale models will be manufactured, one coupe and one SUV concept, to illustrate how the Lagonda design language could be adapted for the future.

The Vision Concept showcases Lagonda design ingenuity. Both far shorter and lower than traditional limousines, the exceptional space efficiency that has been achieved by its radical design means there is room inside for four adults, to stretch out in luxurious comfort.

With no need to package a vast internal combustion engine, gearbox and transmission, Lagonda’s designers could optimise the interior down to the smallest detail and then build up the exterior of the car around it.

The concept car doesn’t have a bonnet because one is not required. But it still needs to travel through the air and to do so as efficiently as possible to preserve the battery life, which is why its shape is so sleek and dynamic.

Inside, the team turned to the most traditional of households for the most visionary thinking. The work of renowned English craftsman David Snowdon, has fascinated Aston Martin EVP and Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman, for years. His ability to marry materials, some very modern, others very established in ways that are never predictable held the key to the interior of the Lagonda Vision Concept.

The Lagonda also anticipates a world with a high level of autonomy. Its design is commensurate with level four autonomous driving, meaning the car is capable of driving itself in all routine circumstances and on all recognisable roads. As a result, the steering wheel can not only move from left to right hand drive according to need, in autonomous mode it can also retract entirely, allowing front seat passengers to rotate through 180 degrees to engage in face to face conversation with those in the back. In the meantime, the car will not only have 360-degree awareness of the world around it, but also be fully connected to it, allowing occupants unprecedented access to bespoke concierge services and a level of connectivity and cyber-security few enjoy in their own homes, let along their cars.

The concept car provides the first clues to the Lagonda models of the future. It embodies the vision to be a standalone marque that will break through long-standing boundaries and transform the way people perceive luxury transport. And as with the concept, this will be done through the use of cutting edge design, creating technologically radical, visually spectacular, thoroughly modern and ultra-luxurious vehicles that will overturn conventional thinking.

Lagonda will use emergent technologies not to isolate their occupants from the experience of travel as do others, but to immerse them in its magic, enabling a whole new generation of enthusiasts and connoisseurs to rediscover the long lost joy of the journey. Once more the simple thrill of travel will become the justification for the journey, and no longer merely a means of reaching a destination. – Source : Aston Martin

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